This Place: 150 Years Retold

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (she/her/hers) is a writer, publisher, activist, and member of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, on the Saugeen Peninsula in Ontario. An Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, Kateri’s publications encompass poetry, fiction, non-fiction, radio plays, television and film, libretti, graphic novels, and spoken word. Her teaching and creative work is firmly decolonial―a practice of cultural resurgence, affirmation, and survivance. Kateri is also the founder, publisher, and art director for Kegedonce Press, for which she was awarded the 2025 Ivy Award to recognize her substantial contributions to Canadian publishing.

Sonny Assu is an interdisciplinary artist whose diverse practice is informed by a deep connection to Kwakwaka’wakw art and culture and melded with western/pop principles of art making. His work has been accepted into the National Gallery of Canada, Seattle Art Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery and into various public and private collections across Canada, the US, and the UK. He currently resides in unceded Ligwiłda’xw territory (Campbell River, BC).

Brandon Mitchell, Mi’gmaq from Listuguj First Nation in Quebec, now resides in the unceded Wolastoqiyik Peace and Friendship Treaty territory of Fredericton, New Brunswick, with his wife, Natasha, and sons Brayden and Bryce. He holds a diploma in animation and design from the New Brunswick Community College of Miramichi, as well as a master's degree in education from the University of New Brunswick. With over two decades of expertise in graphic novels, gaming, and animation, Brandon is a seasoned multidisciplinary artist.

Of Inuit-Cree ancestry, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley was born in a tent on northernmost Baffin Island. She learned Inuit survival lore from her father, surviving residential school and attending university. In 2012, she was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for numerous cultural writings. Of Scottish-Mohawk ancestry, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley was born in southern Ontario, learning woodcraft and stories from his father. Training as an artist, then writer, Sean’s sci-fi work won 2nd place at the California-based Writers of the Future contest, published by Galaxy Press. Rachel and Sean have worked for decades as Arctic researchers and consultants. In writing together, they have published 10 successful books and many shorter works, celebrating the history and uniqueness of Arctic shamanism, cosmology, and cosmogony. Their novel, Skraelings: Clashes in the Old Arctic, was a Governor General Awards Finalist and First Prize Burt Award winner.

David A. Robertson (he/him/his) is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, and recipient of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award. Among many other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, in 2026 David was nominated for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. He has also received recognition for podcasting, public speaking, and social advocacy, including being honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba in 2023 and a Doctor of Laws by the University of Lethbridge in 2025 for his outstanding contributions to the arts and society. David is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg.